If you have been following my posts you will know that back in July I posted my birthday wish list of new and upcoming decks. This weeks review deck was on that list.

Ghost Tarot by Davide Corsi is published by Lo Scarabeo, which means there is only a little white book with this deck. Normally I am not a fan of the little white books but, to be honest, this time I am grateful that there is little to know comment from the deck creator on how to interpret the stunning images on these cards.

There is an ambiguity about this deck that a back story commentary would ruin. Well in my opinion anyway. You see it is hard to tell which role the ghosts in this deck play. Are they merely residual imprints of someones long forgotten past, as indicated by the court cards. Or are these ghosts engaging in and with their environments as seen in the 3 of swords. Or, are these ghosts merely memories, trapped in a cycle of repetition doomed to play out the same story for as long as there attachments tell it, as illustrated in the 6 of pentacles.

This ambiguity really opens up the question, are we of the earth, part and parcel of its construct or merely in it like actors on a stage?

"Truly the universe is full of ghosts, not sheeted churchyard spectres, but the inextinguishable elements of individual life, which having once been, can never die, though they blend and change, and change again for ever.”―H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines

The multiple interpretations of the ghosts themselves adds such a rich layer to all readings done with this deck. Even if you are only a 'pull a card for the day' type reader. For with each card certain new questions can be asked, such as, is this situation a repeat of past energy? Is this all just an imprint and not a factual experience? Are you truly engaged in this energy or merely a spectator? It really all depends on how you interpret the "showing up" aspect of the ghost on the cards you draw.

Being a deck about ghosts and the possible past lives they have lived you could keep this deck as part of your mediumship toolkit. Or maybe even explore pressing past life energy with yourself or reading clients. This would also make a fabulous deck for halloween parties. Personally i like it for sheer self exploration, its ambiguous depths entice me and elude to more. I like that in a deck of tarot cards.

Although I am sure a beginner could pick up this deck if they were strongly called to it, but i recommend this deck for intermediate to advanced readers. There are just more places you can go with these cards if you already have knowledge and expertise in tarot itself.

All in all this is a stunning deck, it card stock is good, it fits well in ones hands and spreads like butter! This deck deserves its 4.5 star rating.

I’ve often wondered about portals. Most of what I’ve read talks about places being portals. Yet what about people? Is it possible for a person to be a portal or just to be some type of attracting mechanism for spirits?

All my life I’ve experienced spirits, no matter where I lived. There was a time when this experience seemed to leave my life, but I think it was more because I was focusing and preoccupied by other events in my life.

So far I've been spending my time here setting the stage for introductory spirit work. But what about the spirits themselves? Who and what are these incorporeal beings that we're trying to communicate with in the first place? The answers to those questions, in complete, are much longer and more complex than I can cover in one article. So consider this a very brief and incomplete overview of some of the sorts of beings in the spirit world.

Ancestor Spirits: These are the spirits of humans who have passed away. Some people feel the ancestors still exist in this world with us, unseen but around us all the time. Others believe they inhabit their own afterlife-world, but can be called on for advice or help in times of need. Depending on who you talk to, any family member, friend, or other important person in your life can be considered an ancestor—in fact, since we are all of the same species we all share ancestors. Others are more strict, keeping it specifically to one's own immediate family and direct predecessors. Ancestor spirits are generally seen as protective in nature, though they can be angered if not propitiated properly (and, not surprisingly, what is considered “proper” is not universal).

Here I am thinking back on the first weekend in August, we were in KC, Mo. I was speaking at a paranormal convention where a few presenters including myself, talked about encounters beyond ghosts.' How can I relate this to goddess living' I wondered, since the event impacted me in a profound way. A Native American paranormal team's approach was earthy and beautifully grounded in their culture and background. Their stories were of 'elementals' and shape- shifters harassing a family. One team spoke of an entity who 'oppressed' a team member and how she changed in behavior. One Bigfoot expert who has discovered their language told, for the first time of his own face-to-face run in with Bigfoot. Another woman spoke of her UFO experiences and of being a part of a national investigative community now. I told of my own run-ins with ghosts and beings that are-something else-

The amazing thing that happened that weekend was the nearly spontaneous outpouring of the speakers to bare events that were personal, and often traumatic. We didn't just relay sightings we'd gathered from others; the tales from our attempts at helping people to understand what's going on around them. Here was gathered a group of people who, for the most part, had never met each other before, and we were onstage, opening up to the audience and daring to face the possible stigma of being called "crazy". You could see the truth as each person spoke, tears luring behind their eyes, the break in their voice as they kept emotions in check, describing the the all-too-real brush with the otherworldly.

It comes up time and again, and I'm not sure I understand it – Ghost Hunting. I have a love/hate relationship with the practices seeking out the spirits of the afterlife. While I think it can be quite helpful, healing and even practical to have some skills in this area, I see people get caught up to a level that distracts them from their own spiritual evolution.

What I”m specifically talking about are Witches, Magicians, Shamanic Practitioners, Pagans, you name it, going ghost hunting for fun. People without a magickal background, who are looking for “proof” that consciousness can exist after death, I understand their fascination, but I don't understand those in the magickal community who do it.